Keisuke Honda ended his lengthy international goal drought for Japan to earn a 2-2 draw with Senegal and keep the race for progression at World Cup 2018 wide open in Group H.
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane took advantage of an awful fumble from Samurai Blue goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to deflect in an 11th-minute opener. New Real Betis winger Takashi Inui levelled things up in style on 34 minutes when he curled a shot into the bottom corner.
Japan dominated chances after the interval and Inui rocked the crossbar, but fell behind when 19-year-old Eupen full-back Moussa Wague provided an emphatic finish to end a fine move. Samurai Blue were then able to fight back for a second time when Pachuca forward Honda tapped in at the back post after a scramble.
The result at Ekaterinburg Arena left both teams on four points at the midway point in the fight to make the round of 16.
HONDA IS REVVING UP
A giant figure in Japanese football came up with a huge equalising goal.
Honda’s composed finish earned a fully merited share of the points and kept Samurai Blue well in the mix.
It also earned the 32-year-old former CSKA Moscow and AC Milan attacker a piece of history as the first Japan international to register in three World Cups.
This ended a personal scoreless spell which stretched back to September 2016’s 2-1 home defeat to the UAE when the final round of AFC qualifying began in inauspicious circumstance. Vitally, it followed an assist off the bench for Yuya Osako’s winner against Colombia.
Honda’s fallow period made him a central character in sacked head coach Vahid Halilhodzic’s failed purge of the old guard. April’s ruthlessness from the Japan Football Association appears to have been vindicated.
4 - Keisuke Honda is now the top-scoring Asian player in World Cup history, netting four goals in nine total appearances in the competition. Icon. #JPNSEN #JPN #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/tT4NYxu04K
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 24, 2018
FLAWED BUT FULL OF PROMISE
The fans in Ekaterinburg were not starved of entertainment.
Plenty of end-to-end action saw the sides share 22 attempts, of which the Lions of Teranga were denied the lion’s share by Japan’s 15.
Each combatant also boasted one goal of requisite class and one of great fortune.
These foibles make it a fool’s errand to predict who will ultimately progress on Thursday when Group H reaches its conclusion.
Ensemble, on peut le faire.🇸🇳✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/SECVNbDtyS
— Senegal Football🇸🇳 (@SenegalFootball) June 24, 2018
ANOTHER KAWASHIMA CALAMITY
Japan cannot say they weren’t warned.
Fresh from letting Juan Fernando Quintero’s low free-kick slither in at his near post for Colombia, Kawashima made another wrick.
Last week’s mistake ultimately could not stop Samurai Blue gaining a historic first-ever victory for an Asian nation against South American opposition at the World Cup.
This time, however, it was a costly one.
Frustration among their supporters comes from the presence on the sidelines of emerging Kashiwa Reysol shot stopper Kosuke Nakamura.
On current ability, the 2017 J. League Best XI member appears the safer choice.
1954 - This World Cup has been the longest without a goalless draw from the start since 1954, when none of the 26 games finished 0-0. Answered. #WorldCup https://t.co/8HNVcmgG4l
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 24, 2018
